Credit card welcome bonuses can offer a significant boost to rewards right off the bat, with some bonuses worth $500, $1000 or potentially more. There's a catch: First, you'll need to spend a certain amount within a given timeframe.
Take The Platinum Card® from American Express' welcome offer, for example. New card members canearn 80,000 Membership Rewards points, but only if they spend $8,000 on eligible purchases within six months of account opening. Then there's the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, which offers 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases within three months of account opening.
That means you'll have to spend thousands of dollars within a few months to qualify for these bonuses, which can be a challenge to do responsibly.
Charging regular, everyday purchases to a card, including gas and groceries, may help you meet these thresholds. There are other expenses you may not have considered that can help you reach your goal a little faster.
Tips for reaching a high spending threshold
You should have a general idea of your everyday spending before you apply for a new credit card to earn a welcome bonus.
By breaking out your bank statements and figuring out how much you normally spend on dining out, gas, groceries and everyday bills, you can determine whether you can meet a minimum spending threshold with your regular spending.
If your everyday spending doesn't match the requirement for a specific card, consider these options.
Make sure you can pay off what you put on your card right away, or that you have an introductory 0% purchase APR to help you avoid interest charges, for a time. If you leave a large balance on your card, the interest it accrues could quickly wipe out any value you'd get from a welcome bonus.
Use your card for planned, large purchases
First, make sure you think about any large planned expenses you have coming up, then plan new credit card applications around them. Large expenses could be a vacation you have to pay for, college tuition and fees, clothing and supplies for back-to-school, your holiday shopping budget or the new kitchen appliances you've been saving up for.
Whatever the large additional charge is, make sure you have a plan ahead of time to pay off the card.
Add an authorized user to your card
Charges made by an authorized user will count toward the minimum spending threshold for a welcome bonus, plus these purchases earn rewards at the card's regular rate.
This means you could reach a threshold faster by adding your spouse, partner or teenagers to your account and letting them use their cards for regular, planned purchases. Be sure any authorized users understand what their spending limits are to avoid any pricey purchases you weren't anticipating.
Look for unusual expenses to charge
Consider every bill you pay each month and if you have the option to pay it with a credit card. Examples of unusual expenses you can often pay with a credit card include:
- Auto insurance
- Gym memberships
- Health insurance premiums
- Homeowners insurance premiums
- Subscription services
- Streaming services
- Utility bills
Note that some unusual expenses may require an added fee to pay with a credit card. This is sometimes the case with utility bills.
Shelling out a few extra dollars to pay your electric bill with a credit card for a couple of months may be worth it if it helps you earn a generous credit card welcome offer.
Pay taxes with a credit card
Depending on the size of your tax bill, you may be able to reach a bonus threshold just by paying your taxes with a credit card. Fees are often required, but these fees can be worth it, depending on the size of the welcome bonus.
For example, you can pay your federal tax bill with the Internal Revenue Service using a credit card, but you'll incur a card processing fee that's 1.82% to 1.98% of the amount owed.
Strategies to avoid when earning your welcome bonus
The main pitfall to avoid when pursuing a credit card welcome bonus is one to watch out for all year long -- overspending to earn rewards.
If you're buying stuff you don't need or paying more than you should for items you would otherwise get cheaper, there's a good chance your card's bonus offer won't leave you any better off.
Also, make sure you have a plan to pay off your credit card balance each month to avoid credit card interest. This move is crucial at any time, but especially right now since average credit card interest rates are well over 20%.
If you need to carry a credit card balance, you can also look into 0% APR credit cards that offer rewards. These cards will let you earn a smaller welcome bonus while enjoying zero interest during the promotional period, which usually runs from nine to 21 months.
If I can't earn the welcome bonus through my regular spending, should I still get the card?
If you can't earn a welcome bonus through regular spending and bills on one card, you should look for a different option. There are a range of cards with bonuses, including some that require just $500 in spending in the first few months.
You can earn some credit card bonuses by making a single purchase, including the bonus on the Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard*, which lets you earn 60,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full within 90 days of account opening.
Although rare, it's also possible to earn a welcome bonus without any specific spending requirement. For example, the Prime Visa currently offers a $150 Amazon gift card instantly upon approval.
How should I redeem my welcome bonus?
You can redeem a credit card welcome bonus in whatever way suits you best, but remember that some cards have more redemption options than others.
For example, flexible rewards credit cards from programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards let you redeem for travel options plus gift cards, statement credits or merchandise.
Some cash-back credit cards offer just as many options, whereas others only let you redeem for cash back or statement credits.
The best credit card welcome bonuses
The best credit card welcome bonus depends on the type of rewards you want to earn. The chart below shows some of the most lucrative bonuses available, their minimum spending requirements and annual fees.
| Card name | Welcome offer | Annual fee |
| American Express® Gold Card | 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases within six months of account opening | $325 (see rates and fees) |
| Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card* | 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening | $95 |
| The Platinum Card® from American Express | 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases within six months of account opening | $695 (see rates and fees) |
| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases within three months of account opening | $95 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® | 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening, plus $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year | $95 |
Can I earn a welcome bonus more than once?
All credit card issuers have policies when it comes to how often you can earn bonuses on specific cards. Digging down even further, policies can vary between different cards from the same issuer, with some being more stringent than others.
As an example, all American Express credit cards come with a "once per lifetime" policy on their welcome offers that actually renews after around seven years.
So after you earn a bonus on a specific card, you may be eligible to earn the same card's bonus again after seven years have passed. With Chase Sapphire cards, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred® and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, new bonus offers aren't available to current cardholders with any Sapphire card or previous cardmembers who earned a bonus on any Sapphire card in the previous 48 months.
Other cardholder policies vary, so read the fine print to understand the welcome bonus rules for the cards you're considering.
*All information about the Capital One Venture Rewards Card and the Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
